Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme

Under the July Jobs Stimulus Package the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) replaced the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) from 1 September 2020.

The EWSS ended for most businesses on 30 April 2022. For businesses directly impacted by the public health restrictions introduced in December 2021, the EWSS ended on 31 May 2022.

This page can be used for reference purposes for information on the operation of the EWSS up until it closed on 31 May 2022.

Under the EWSS scheme, employers and new firms in sectors impacted by COVID-19 whose turnover has fallen 30% got a flat-rate subsidy per week based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll, including seasonal staff and new employees.

The EWSS remained in place in a graduated form until 30 April 2022 for most businesses. For businesses directly impacted by the public health restrictions introduced in December 2021, the EWSS ended on 31 May 2022.

Businesses not directly impacted by the public health restrictions

The changes were:

• The enhanced rates of supports under the current 5 payment bands continued for December 2021 and January 2022.
• A two-rate structure of €151.50 and €203 applied for February.
• A flat rate subsidy of €100 applied for March and April.
• The full rate of Employers’ PRSI was reinstated from 1 March 2022.
• The EWSS ended on 30 April 2022.

Businesses directly impacted by the public health restrictions

The changes were:

• The graduated step-down in subsidy rates was delayed by one month.
• Businesses continued to receive the enhanced rates of subsidy for February.
• A two-rate structure of €151.50 and €203 applied for March.
• A flat rate subsidy of €100 applied for April and May.
• The full rate of Employers’ PRSI was reinstated from 1 March 2022.
• The EWSS ended on 31 May 2022.

The EWSS closed on 31 May 2022. The information below can be used for reference purposes.

How do I qualify?

To qualify for the scheme you must:

• Have valid tax clearance
• Meet the reduction in turnover or customer orders test

Tax clearance

In order to receive the EWSS payments, you must:

• Have a valid tax clearance certificate
• Continue to maintain tax clearance for the duration of the scheme

You can check your current tax clearance status online through ROS. More information on tax clearance is available from Revenue.

The July Stimulus Package included measures on ‘warehousing’ or deferral of unpaid VAT and Employers PAYE debt associated with COVID-19. The Economic Recovery Plan for Ireland announced that EWSS overpayments will now be included in the scheme.

You can get more information on the initiatives covering COVID-19 related tax debts in Revenue’s Information Booklet (pdf).

Reduction in turnover or customer orders test

You must self-declare to Revenue that you have experienced significant negative economic disruption due to COVID-19, with a minimum of 30% decline in turnover or customer orders over a 12 month period (extended from 6 months under the Economic Recovery Plan). The review of turnover or orders should look at the period as whole, not individual months. For new businesses, this is based on a projected forward test.

If you are a charity that is getting special grant funding under the Government’s Charity Stability Scheme, the funding may be excluded from the definition of turnover in assessing your eligibility for the EWSS. You can contact the Revenue division or branch responsible for your tax affairs for further guidance.

If you are a registered childcare provider, you do not need to meet the 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders test.

Re-qualification for EWSS

You can re-qualify for EWSS if your business had a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders during a particular reference period:

• If your business was set up on or before 30 April 2019, the business must anticipate that the combined turnover for December 2021 and January 2022 will be down by at least 30%, compared with the combined turnover for December 2019 and January 2020.
• If your business was set up between 1 May 2019 and 31 December 2021, the business must anticipate that the average monthly turnover for December 2021 and January 2022 will be down by at least 30%, compared with the average monthly turnover from August 2021 to November 2021

If you have a more complex business structure and need help determining your eligibility for the scheme, you can get further guidance in Appendix I of Revenue’s EWSS Guidelines (pdf).

Eligible employees

The scheme was available for employers who keep staff on their payroll during the period of the scheme.

There were no restrictions on taking on new employees or moving employees under a transfer of undertaking, once these are undertaken for legitimate business reasons and not to maximise subsidy claims.

Employees could be:

• Temporarily not working or
• On reduced hours or reduced pay (or both)

An employee who is receiving a EWSS payment and whose work is reduced to 3 days or less per week, may be entitled to Short Time Work Support which is a form of Jobseeker’s Benefit.

An eligible employer must be paying gross wages between €151.50 and €1,462 gross per week to qualify for EWSS (see Rates below).

Certain categories of employees were excluded from the EWSS. These were:

• Proprietary directors (with certain exceptions – see below)
• Connected parties who were not on the payroll and paid at any time between July 2019 and June 2020 (Certain exceptions apply). See Revenue’s website for details.

You could claim the subsidy for proprietary directors if:

• You met the eligibility criteria for the EWSS
• The proprietary director was on your payroll
• You paid wages to the proprietary director which were reported to Revenue on your payroll between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020

Where a person is a proprietary director of 2 or more eligible companies, a claim for the EWSS could only be submitted for a single company.

You can read additional guidance on eligible employees and excluded categories in Revenue’s EWSS Guidelines (pdf).

Proofs required

Applications for EWSS were based on self-assessment principles. This means you did not have to provide proof of eligibility to Revenue at the registration stage. Revenue will review eligibility in the future, based on risk criteria - see ‘Compliance checks’ below.

You should keep proof of your eligibility for the scheme (evidence of reduction in turnover and other evidence). You can read detailed information on the supporting proofs in Appendix I of Revenue’s EWSS Guidelines (pdf).

Employer eligibility review

You had to undertake a review of your eligibility for the scheme. This had to be done on the last day of every month (other than the final month of the scheme). Online monthly EWSS Eligibility Review Form had to be completed and submitted through ROS.

You can get more information on eligibility reviews in Revenue’s Guidelines on eligibility for the EWSS from 1 July 2021 (pdf).

Compliance checks

Revenue contacted employers to check records relating to the operation of the scheme including:

• Evidence that you meet the eligibility criteria, specifically the reduction in turnover or customer orders test
• Details of monthly eligibility reviews

Anti-abuse measures

Businesses can be penalised or face a possible criminal prosecution for inappropriate accounting practices or for a false representation of the financial situation of their business. You can get more information on these anti-abuse measures in Revenue’s EWSS Guidance (pdf).

The EWSS closed on 31 May 2022. The information below can be used for reference purposes.

The subsidy amount paid to employers will depend on the gross income of each employee.

EWSS gave a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers, based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll.

For most businesses, the following rates applied:

For businesses directly impacted by the public health restrictions introduced in December 2021, the following rates applied:

Income tax and PRSI deductions

Under the EWSS employers must operate PAYE on all payments. This means employers resumed the regular deduction of income tax, USC and employee PRSI from your employees’ pay.

The full rate of Employers’ PRSI was reinstated from 1 March 2022.

The EWSS closed on 31 May 2022 and no new applications were accepted from that date.

You can get more background on the operation of the scheme in Revenue’s EWSS Guidelines (pdf).